Christmas Spirit
by marnimg
Summary: It's Christmas at Hogwarts, and for Rose and Scorpius, hormones seem to be running a little crazy. *Originally a one-shot but will probably be a multi-chap at this point*. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

"Season's greetings, Miss Weasley!"

I glance up from my Charms essay and try not to slam my head against the table.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" I reply tightly to Scorpius Malfoy who is looking ridiculous in a Santa hat that has bells on the end which jingle when he moves.

Every. Time. He. Moves.

"I wanted to wish you Merry Christmas," Scorpius is grinning at me but I scowl at him in return.

"Scorpius, it's December 2nd." I state flatly and duck my head again to carry on writing my essay. It's an assignment to be completed over Christmas, but it can't hurt to do it before we've even left Hogwarts.

"It's never too early to get in the Christmas spirit," Scorpius grins broadly and sits opposite me at the table.

Whoever's master plan it was to assign Scorpius Malfoy as Head Boy for our last year at Hogwarts has some explaining to do. And not just because of the questionably poor choice of male role model for the younger kids to look up. But because this same person also thought that the perfect match to Malfoy's Head Boy-ship was to assign me as Head Girl. You literally couldn't make this up.

"Scorpius," I begin and set down my quill. If I have to listen to the incessant jingling of Scorpius' hat one more time, it's getting thrown in the fire. "I know this is a slightly alien concept to you, but I'm actually doing _homework._ "

Scorpius feigns an air of mild interest. "And what does that include, Miss Weasley?" He asks innocently.

"It includes peace and quiet and strictly _no - jingling - Christmas - hats_ ," I enunciate each word firmly.

"Hey — don't hate on the hat, Rose," Scorpius rushes to the hat's defence. "Anyway — I thought you loved Christmas?"

"I do," I reply truthfully. "But not when I'm trying to write an essay and the Head Boy is being irritating."

"Sounds like you should get a new Head Boy," Scorpius says jovially.

"That's the dream."

Scorpius laughs and the movement of his head causes the bells to tinkle faintly.

"Anyway, I actually came here to tell you that Albus has got detention," Scorpius sits back in his chair. "He somehow managed to charm all of the suits of armour on the third floor to sing Christmas carols in rounds."

I give a snort of laughter despite myself. "That's stupid."

"But inspired."

"Whatever." I reply shortly and continue with my paragraph. "Scorpius, stop staring at me. Don't you have anything better to do?"

Scorpius gives a sigh and I watch him raise his arms above his head to stretch. I don't mean to, but I can't help but notice the way that this action makes his shirt strain pleasantly across his well toned —

"Rose, why are you blushing?" _Dammit_!

I scowl at him. "Look, if you've nothing better to do, then you can be useful and go and help McGonagall out with the preparations for the Winter Ball. I've done my fair share of the work," I say primly and not without a hint of annoyance.

"But you love organising things," Scorpius says, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. He leans forward, forearms resting on the table. "You're a control freak. Why would you want me to take over? You love the Ball."

"Actually," I lower my eyes and pretend to be finding a passage in a book. "I don't."

Scorpius doesn't answer for a minute. "But why?"

"I don't have to answer to you." I reply snappily. "Now please, leave me to work in peace."

Scorpius gets to his feet with his hat jingling after him as he turns on his heel and walks out of our shared common room.

Shaking thoughts of Scorpius' well toned chest out of my head, I turn back to my essay and start on the conclusion. It's dark now and Scorpius still isn't back, and in spite of myself, I miss his company. The past few months of having to share a common room with him have almost driven me crazy, and I've missed sharing with five girls. At least Scorpius certainly keeps things lively in here.

With my essay now finished, I roll up my parchment and carefully pack away my ink and quills. I put the books in my satchel so I can take them back to the library. With nothing else to do, I change for bed and try to have an early night.

…

"Good morning, Miss Weasley," Scorpius greets me jovially. This morning he's wearing an ugly red and green Christmas jumper with fair-isle knit reindeer. Luckily, the jingling hat is no where in sight. "Coffee?"

I regard him suspiciously from the doorway of my room. "Tell me something, Scorpius."

"Anything,"

"Why are you in such a good mood?" I ask as I sit in the sofa in front of the fire and watch Scorpius pour me a mug of coffee.

"Don't you just feel the Christmas cheer taking over your body?" Scorpius hands me the mug and sits beside me. We turn to face each other.

"Usually, yes. But not this year," I admit. He looks genuinely troubled and tilts his head to the side, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion. I sigh. "I'm so stressed with school work, I just haven't had time to relax and enjoy my favourite time of the year."

"I wouldn't know what that felt like," Scorpius jokes and I make a face at him. "I'm kidding. I think you just need to realise that this place … it isn't the whole world. It is now, but one day, the grades we get here aren't even going to matter. You've got to learn to relax."

I give a laugh of mirth. "Ask Albus — I can't relax."

"Sure you can," Scorpius says encouragingly. "What are you thinking about now?"

"Summer exams," I reply immediately. It's true; the only thing I ever think about now are exams and assignments and grades.

"What's your favourite part about Christmas?"

"Decorating the tree," I say with a smile. "But because of deadlines for applications, I'll be staying at Hogwarts until a week before Christmas, so I'll miss that." I can't keep the disappointment out of my voice. The truth is; my final year at Hogwarts is ruining my love of Christmas whether I let it or not.

Scorpius nods thoughtfully. "That sucks," he says sympathetically. "Do I get to know why you aren't excited about the Winter Ball yet?"

I narrow my eyes at him. "Nice try," I say. "But it takes more than that to catch me off guard."

"Ice Queen," Scorpius teases in good humour.

"Prat." I reply with a wry smile. "Thanks for the coffee."

"No problem. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some important business to attend to," and with that, Scorpius gets up and leaves the room.

I drain my coffee and force myself to get showered and dressed. I have some plans for the Ball to prepare for the next meeting with McGonagall in a few hours, and I'm supposed to have planned almost the entire event by now.

My day drags by; I put together menu plans and colour schemes and brain storm table decorations and ice sculptures. I then take them all to McGonagall's office and am pleasantly surprised to see tinsel tastefully adorning two picture frames. She thanks me for my relentless contributions and asks about Scorpius' lack of input. I then reassure her that I will be giving Mr Malfoy a metaphorical kick up the backside when I next see him.

By the time I'm back in the common room, I realise I've actually been pretty lonely today and I haven't properly spoken to anyone. But I'm also absolutely exhausted: I collapse into my favourite red armchair and I don't even realise that I've fallen asleep until I'm violently woken up by an almighty crash.

"What the —?!" I start, and when I look properly, I see Albus and Scorpius stood in the doorway, both shouldering a large pine tree, their faces flushed pink from effort. "What the hell are you both doing?!"

"We got a tree!" Albus exclaims gleefully.

"Yes, I can see that."

"Out of the way, Weasley," Scorpius winks at me and grins. I numbly step to the side and simply watch as my cousin and his best friend haul an 8 foot Christmas tree into the common room.

The boys set the tree straight, and Scorpius casts a charm to make it stand without assistance. They turn to me with joy lighting up their faces.  
"What do you think?" Albus can't stop smiling.

"I'm thinking there are probably school rules against this," I sigh. "How did you even get it up here?"

"We carried it," Scorpius replies absentmindedly as he begins to rearrange some of the branches on the tree.

"You _what_?" I reply. "You hauled that thing up seven floors?! Why didn't you just levitate it?"

Scorpius and Albus both turn and raise an eyebrow at me as Scorpius' sarcasm goes over my head. "Stop sucking the joy out of everything, Rosie Posie." Is Albus' reply. I scowl at him.

The boys gaze at the tree proudly as if it's their first born child and I roll my eyes. "You guys are too much," I say. Albus turns to me and brushes pine needles off his forest green jumper with a golden knitted 'A' on the front: a Grandma Weasley creation, of course.

"I'd love to stay, but alas, I have a date," If possible, Albus' smile widens even more. He gives us both a wave. "Later, you two."

"Bye, Al," Scorpius and I chorus.

As soon as my cousin is gone, Scorpius turns to the tree with his back to me and busies himself with positioning the branches to perfection. "So now you have a tree to decorate," he says quietly.

I frown. "Sorry?"

Scorpius turns to me and I'm slightly confused as to why he seems to be blushing. He won't look me in the eye and he clears his throat. "I got you a tree so you could decorate it because you're missing it at home so I thought we could do it together and it's your favourite part of Christmas so —"

I shut Scorpius' nervous babbling up by launching myself at him and flinging my arms around his neck. "Scorp!" I squeak slightly. Scorpius seems slightly stunned at my outburst of emotion when I'm usually so contained, but after a second, I feel his arms wrap around me. "Thank you." I say.

"You're welcome, Rose," Scorpius murmurs in my ear. I pull away and look at the tree properly.

"Do we have decorations?" I ask, not being able to contain the glee in my voice.

Scorpius beams, pleased that I'm genuinely happy.

"Go look in my room," Scorpius says and I don't need to be told twice. I cross the room and open up the door to his room and am briefly surprised: his room is identical to mine in furniture and layout, but the green and silver decor replaces the red and gold in my own room. On his bed are three wooden crates with "CHRISTMAS DECS!" scrawled on the sides.

I allow myself a small moment of properly smiling as I lean against the closed door behind me, knowing Scorpius can't see me. I put my hand over my chest where I can feel my heart beating slightly quicker than I'm used to. Pulling my wand out of my hair that I've haphazardly pinned up in a top knot, I open the door again to levitate the crates into the common room.

Scorpius appears from the other side of the tree and notices me using my wand. "Ah-ah, Miss Weasley," he steps to me, closer than is considered platonic, especially considering I can smell his musky cologne, and takes my wand from my hands. "No magic," he tells me. I open my mouth to protest. "And don't answer back," Scorpius winks jauntily at me and I scowl, but in good humour.

Scorpius takes both our wands and places them safely on the coffee table before turning back to me and rubbing his hands together excitedly. "Shall we?" He invites, and we each grab a crate of decorations, placing them in front of the tree. Whilst Scorpius is fetching the final crate, I snatch my wand up and get a fire going in the fireplace, and suddenly the room is bathed in the warm orange glow. The sun has set outside out diamond paned windows, and the moon is bright white and glowing.

"I saw that," Scorpius says as I hurry to put my wand back beside his as he reenters the room.

"Saw what?" I ask piously. Scorpius gives a laugh and places the box down beside the other two.

We begin to sort through the decorations; there are beautiful handmade glass baubles of all shapes, sizes, and colours. Some of them are enchanted, changing colour, shedding glitter, and we even uncover a blonde angel (looking and acting disturbingly like Victoire), who won't stop flipping her hair at Scorpius, or singing off tune carols in a high soprano voice. She's also very pissed off when Scorpius and I shove her beneath the cushions of the sofa, and can be heard swearing and hurling muffled abuse at us.

Scorpius gets up from the floor where we had been sorting through decorations, announcing that he is going to make us hot chocolate. I get to my feet and start placing baubles on the tree, one after the other, in a world of my own.

"Woah, woah, woah, _woah_ , Rose Weasley!" Scorpius sounds appalled as he turns around from the counter top with a steaming mug in each hand.

"What?" I say, confused, looking from the tree, to Scorpius' horrified expression. "What have I done?"

"Just _what_ do you think you're doing?!"

I blink at him. "Decorating the tree?" I reply uncertainly.

"Rose," Scorpius takes a deep, calming breath, placing the two red mugs on the coffee table, and I desperately try to refrain from bursting out laughing. "Rose, there is an _art_ to decorating a Christmas tree. You do not simply _throw_ everything you can find onto the branches—"

"Are you having me on?"

"—You have to choose a colour scheme, and distribute the baubles of appropriate colour around the tree. There has to be a system, and a discipline, and strictly _no tinsel_."

I can't hold it in any longer; I laugh right in his face, and can't stop. "I'm sorry." I try to contain myself. With mild difficulty at Scorpius' solemn expression, I manage to adopt a degree of composure. "You're right; what should we do?"

"Purple and gold," Scorpius replies immediately.

I can't help but grin at his stubbornness. "Aye aye, captain," I say teasingly. Scorpius flashes me a look of fond exasperation and we begin to sort through the decorations for his colour choice. I watch Scorpius curiously as he begins to carefully and methodically place the baubles on the tree, taking care not to have too many baubles from the same family in too condensed an area.

"I can tell you're from a posh household," I comment with a smile.

Scorpius turns to me with a small frown of concentration still softly prominent on his brow. "What do you mean?" He asks.

I step forward and attempt to follow his careful lead round the other side of the tree. "In our family, we just go wild with the tree. It's more of a bonding experience than an ornament."  
"It's still a bonding experience," Scorpius says indignantly. "It doesn't mean it can't look nice."

"Only children," I mutter teasingly. Scorpius catches my eye through the branches and he looks amused, but doesn't rise to it.

It takes about an hour for us to decorate the tree up to Malfoy standard. I know my family would have made the branches bow beneath gaudy decorations, enchanted sleigh bells, and rude garden gnomes dressed up as fairies.

"Now close your eyes." I order Scorpius and he looks wary as he flickers his eyelids shut.

After checking he isn't peeking, I dig out the gold tinsel he tried to hide behind the sofa earlier, and drape it on the branches.

"Open!" I announce.

Scorpius is silent for about 3.7 seconds before uttering; "no."

I pout. "But I want tinsel."

"No." Scorpius repeats, the corners of his mouth tugging a little as if he wants to smile.

"Please?" I attempt to appeal, ducking my chin slightly and looking up at him from beneath my lashes. I see Scorpius waver.

He scowls at me in defeat. " _Fine_." He huffs eventually and I give a little squeak of triumphant glee at my victory.

With the tree decorated, we settle down on the sofa, each cradling our mugs of hot chocolate. It's gone dark outside now, and our shared common room is warm and cozy, the fire illuminating Scorpius' usually cool features in a warm glow; his platinum hair is now lit with gold, his pale sapphire blue eyes glitter with rubies, and his prominent cheekbones are softened.

All in all, Scorpius Malfoy is looking much more appealing in a new light.

"You've gone very quiet," Scorpius comments, lifting the mug to his lips. I notice the way he blows gently on the surface of his drink before delicately drinking.

"Sorry," I shake myself out of a stupor, internally scolding myself for being all weird and moony over Scorpius Malfoy. Clearly it's my hormones running wild.

"So how do you like the tree?" Scorpius doesn't look at me as he asks, and he seems shy.

"I love it," I smile. "Thank you so much; I really appreciate this."

Scorpius gives a self conscious half shrug. "It was nothing."

My smile grows a little at him attempting to play it off. I've never seen this side of him.

We're quiet for a bit; the only sound is the crackling of the fire and us sipping our drinks.

Usually, our silences together go unnoticed; living together and tolerating each other for this long has meant that we don't tend to pay attention to long periods of not talking. But this moment is different. This silence is full and charged.

"Do you, uh," Scorpius clears his throat. "Do you want something a little stronger?"

"Excuse me?"

Scorpius gives a nervous laugh and then gestures at his mug. "I mean the drink. I have some Firewhiskey if you want some."

"Oh!" Suddenly I feel a little embarrassed and I don't know why. "Uh, sure."

Something has changed. The atmosphere feels heavy and static. Scorpius gets up from the sofa and heads into his room. I suddenly find myself raking a hand through my hair and attempting to tame the frizz, and I catch myself trying to make sure I look okay. I've never bothered much with my image in front of Scorpius before.

"Here," Scorpius is back with two bottles of opened Firewhiskey and hands one to me.

"Thanks," I take the bottle from him and he sits back next to me, and I wonder if I'm being crazy, but I swear he's sat closer to me than before.

"So whats the deal with this Winter Ball then," Scorpius asks smoothly.

"I've made some plans which I want you to look over. And I want you to actually help me too," I say prickly.

"I'm sorry," Scorpius sounds abashed. "I guess I just didn't want to get in your way."

"We're supposed to be doing this together, you know." I add primly, not resisting a little dig.

Scorpius raises an eyebrow cooly. "I know, I apologise." Scorpius says with a hard voice.

"Sorry," I mutter. "I'm just really not looking forward to this event at all." I drop my chin and fiddle with the label of the Firewhiskey bottle.

"You still won't tell me why," Scorpius observes.

"I'm aware." I say shortly.

More silence.

We drink our Firewhiskey and make small talk. I fill him in on the Winter Ball plans, and Scorpius tries his best to appear interested. He even makes a few suggestions, and even though they're not great, I appreciate the effort.

Before I know it, we're both onto our third bottle of Firewhiskey, and the fire and alcohol is making me warm. The jumper I had been wearing throughout the day is causing me to overheat and I pull it off revealing the tight black Weird Sisters band t-shirt I stole from Lily last year.

My younger cousin has somewhat of an affinity for deliberately buying clothes a bit too small for her and cutting them lower than I ever deem to be appropriate. My current outfit choice was the result of a lack of clean shirts, and something to wear under my Weasley jumper. Wearing the (extremely) low-cut shirt in front of a certain Scorpius Malfoy was certainly not my intention for this evening.

As I drape my jumper neatly over the back of the sofa, I see Scorpius' eyes glance over my chest and he flushes a little pink.

"So you like the Weird Sisters, huh?" Scorpius starts, still looking a little flushed.

I look down at myself, as if I had no idea I was even wearing the shirt. "Oh. Yeah. They're my favourite band — I always go and see them with Dom and Lily," I say casually. The alcohol has made my tongue feel heavy and my head is beginning to feel a little fuzzy. Strangely, it's giving me a mild confidence boost.

"Interesting. Did the shirt come like that by any chance?" I can tell he's teasing me. Clearly the confidence boost has gone both ways.

I roll my eyes and try to cover my cleavage a little. "Lily is a bit too scissor happy when it comes to showing off her, ahem, _assets_."

"Uh huh," Scorpius looks amused.

I reach over and hit his arm lightly. " _Stop_ ," I apprehend him, but I'm laughing.

"I mean — the shirt definitely suits you," Scorpius is laughing too.

"Stop objectifying me, Malfoy!"

Scorpius pretends to look offended. "I would never, Miss Weasley."

Our laughter dies companionably and I realise we've got closer on the sofa. I can make out different shades of blue in his eyes, and I realise he has a small scar on his left temple which I never noticed before. I place my bottle on the floor and arrange myself a little closer, my knees pulled up on the cushions are grazing against his thigh.

With one finger, I trace the small silver scar. Scorpius gulps slightly at my touch. I've never touched him before. "How did you get this?" I ask gently.

"Quidditch, two years ago; your delightful cousin Albus accidentally - or so he claims - hit me with a bat and split my temple open. I had a black eye for weeks."

I can't help laughing. "I remember that!" I say.

"Don't laugh! It hurt!" Scorpius smiles at my laughter and I cover my mouth.

"I'm sorry," I'm still giggling a little. "I'll make it up to you."

And I don't know what makes me do it, but I suddenly find myself leaning over and placing a soft kiss on Scorpius' temple. Our faces are close and I can feel the heat radiating from him. He boldly places a hand on my thigh and mine go to his chest. And before I know it, we're kissing.

I pull away and we both look at each other, slightly shocked at this shift in our friendship.

"See," I airily try to breeze over it.

"Rose —" Scorpius starts but I get to my feet, pretending I haven't heard him.

"Gosh is that the time," I babble, extravagantly checking my watch.

"Rose —!"

"I'd best be off to bed."

" _Rose_!" Scorpius is getting annoyed and stands up too. We're standing close. I panic.

"Thank you for the tree. Goodnight, Scorpius." I turn away and into the safety of my room, closing and locking the door.


	2. Chapter 2

"You did _what_ to Scorpius Malfoy?!" Lily's mouth hangs open unattractively, her voice cutting through the dull buzz of sleepy morning conversations in the Great Hall.

" _Lily, shut up_ ," I hiss as several other Gryffindors glance over in interest at the mention of the Head Boy. Interest is piqued when they notice their Head Girl is flushed red.

" _You kissed Scor—_?!" I launch myself over the table and roughly cover Lily's mouth with the palm of my hand.

" _Shut up, Potter, or so help me, I'll —_ "

"Good morning, Rosie. Sister dear," Lily and I are interrupted by the Dynamic Duo of Albus and Scorpius who swagger up to the table, greeting us in turn. Scorpius and I can barely look each other in the eye.

"Morning, Al," we chorus. "Scorpius." I add, casually sitting back in my seat, flashing my eyes at Lily in a desperate warning. The boys join us at the table, Albus sits beside his sister, and Scorpius seats himself next to me.

"How are you this morning, Scorp?" Lily asks brightly and I kick her hard under the table. She doesn't even flinch but Albus gives a grunt and his eyes water. He gives me an annoyed look.

"Sorry," I mutter. "My leg slipped."

"I'm very well thank you, Lily," Scorpius replies politely, picking a piece of toast from the rack in front of us.

"And how are _you_ , Rosie?" Albus asks meaningfully, and I swear he knows more than he lets on. Both Potter siblings have the same scheming glint in their eyes.

 _There is no family loyalty_. I think to myself bitterly.

"I'm fine," I reply shortly, giving my cousins a hard stare. I feel Scorpius shifting beside me. His movement reminds me of how close we kept getting on the sofa last night and I feel my stomach flip pleasantly at the memory, and then promptly cringe as I remember how awkward I was. _Why_ did I feel the need to kiss Scorpius? God, Rose, _why_.

"You're fine?" Scorpius asks coolly and I freeze.

"Surely you'd know how she was? You do share a common room after all," Albus says slyly and I flash my eyes at him.

"Well I'm sure I would have known if she had been there this morning," Scorpius says airily, pouring himself coffee. I gulp. So he noticed that I deliberately got up early to avoid him then. Damn it.

I look at Lily and try to desperately communicate with my eyes to her not to leave me. She looks as if she understands my silent plea. I dare hope.

"Albus, may I call upon your extensive Potions knowledge and ask for your help with my homework?" Lily pipes up suddenly. My hopes fall and shatter at my feet.

If possible, Albus looks even more gleeful. "Why yes, sister; yes, you may. See you two later!"

I widen my eyes in horror at Lily, silently begging her not to leave. She grins at me.

"Bye guys!" Albus and Lily leave the table and as they retreat, I can see their shoulders shaking with laughter. _Assholes_.

"I'm going up to the common room," I announce, cutting the awkwardness.

"I'll come up with you," Scorpius says, either recognizing my excuse to leave him and not letting me, or being completely ignorant. I have a sinking feeling that it's not the latter.

The walk up to our shared common room has never felt so long. We're silent the entire time, save for the occasional comments on portraits and younger students.

Eventually, we reach the seventh floor, and we're both finally alone in the common room: the atmosphere is unbearable.

"I'm sorry I walked out," I say suddenly. "Last night. When … when we kissed. I'm sorry I just stood up and walked out."

Scorpius shrugs. "It doesn't matter."

"It does," I take a deep breath. "I enjoyed it." My voice shaking with nerves.

Scorpius glances at me to see if I'm joking or not. "So did I." He tells me.

I smile a little. "Good." I clear my throat. "Okay so … we should do some work for the Winter Ball. It is tonight, after all."

"Sure."

The atmosphere has eased, but not completely. I feel humiliated by the way I acted last night, but Scorpius is being aloof and seems not to care too much. We sit next to each other at the table and lay out the plans for the Winter Ball.

It's boring and tedious, but for once, Scorpius is doing most of the mental gymnastics. It takes us a few hours, but eventually, we're done. Completely done.

I release a breath. "Thank Merlin that's over," I say finally.

"Amen to that," Scorpius concedes. "Do you want a drink?"

I check my watch. "Scorpius, it's 11am."

"I'll take that as a yes then."

" _Scorp_ ," I laugh. "No, come on; let's take all this to McGonagall."

He huffs, but in good humour. "Fine. But then can we drink?"

I ignore him.

We head to McGonagall's office and offload the plans. She's impressed that it's done (and by Malfoy's general presence), and it's finally sorted that the Great Hall will be decked out in ice sculptures and enchanted snow, ready for the Winter Ball that evening.

The rest of the day passes companionably and finally, Scorpius and I head down to the Great Hall together to do some last minute checking of the decorations. I'm wearing a loose navy pull over and black leggings, everything about my appearance screaming 'I want a night in'. We enter the hall and I gasp involuntarily. It's beautiful.

Everything is white and glittering. The place looks as if it should be freezing cold, but it's fairly temperate. The enchanted ceiling is snowing and all along the walls are ice sculptures of the Hogwarts house mascots. There are several circular tables, each dusted with enchanted snow and

"It's perfect," I say in awe.

"We certainly make a good team," Scorpius says and when I turn to him, his eyes wide in a childlike wonder.

I scoff. "What do you mean, 'we'?!" I ask indignantly.

"I'm sorry," he looks at me with a playful smile. "You did an amazing job planning this."

"I just wish it wasn't compulsory for me to be there, _Merlin_ , I hate these kind of events," I wring my hands together in anxiety.

Scorpius is watching me carefully. "What is your problem with this? It's just a stupid Winter Ball."

I pull a face at him. "Yes, well, I wouldn't expect you to understand." I mutter and turn away from him. Scorpius doesn't say anything to me. "Right, well I think we're all done here." I say breezily.

"I hate it when you do that," Scorpius tells me suddenly.

"Excuse me?"

"You did it last night and you're doing it now; why do you refuse to talk to me?" Scorpius seems to be done with his minor rant as he clocks the surprised look on my face. He flushes and drops his eyes. "I'm sorry. That was rude."

The heavy atmosphere is back again.

I check my watch. "We'd better start getting ready." I say tightly with a false cheeriness.

"Sure," Scorpius agrees. "I'll see you later."

"Later, Scorp." I give him a wave before making my way up to the common room and into my dorm room. I shower and perform a drying charm on my hair before stepping out into my room and pulling out the dress for tonight and laying it on my bed.

"Right." I murmur to the dress with dread.

A few weeks ago, Lily had dragged me into Hogsmeade to buy a dress, knowing how clueless and unenthusiastic I am when it comes to fashion, and certainly to the prospect of this ball.

I sit at my dressing table in just my underwear and battle with liquid liner, mascara, even coverage, and finally a slash of red lipstick. I twist my hair up simply at the back, leaving my pale neck and shoulders completely exposed. I can't help but think how elegant I look for once.

There's a knock on the door. "Rose? I left my jacket with Al earlier so I'm going to go and get it. I'll see you outside the hall in a bit, okay? Oh – and Lily's here."

"Alright," I call back through the door and as I hear his footsteps retreating, I hear an excited patter of feet until my door is flung open.

"Well you're not going out like that," Lily says with a broad grin.

"Shut your face." I reply shortly. Lily cackles. She sweeps into the room in a low plunge green silk gown, looking beautiful.

"Show me the dress," she demands, her eyes wild and excited. "And stop sulking." I groan and begrudgingly slide off my chair.

I step into the dress and when I look into the mirror, I am actually fairly surprised by my reflection. The dress is full length and fitted with a sweetheart neckline. It's an appropriately coloured pale, silvery blue, with an iridescence to it which is shifting and flattering to my complexion. Well done, Lily.

"Let me do you up at the back," Lily says and I turn. She pulled the ties on the corset at the back tight and I give a little scream.

" _Shit_ , Lil." I protest. "I still need to _breathe_."

"Oh shut up; it makes your boobs look amazing," Lily tells me and when I look in the mirror again, I see she's actually right.

"Yes," I agree tightly. "But my internal organs are being crushed here."

"Women suffer for their beauty." Lily shrugs. "Are you ready to go down?"

I give a longer, more frustrated groan. "Yeah, I'm ready. I need to meet Scorpius before everyone else gets there."

"Alright. I'm going back to the dorm for a bit so I'll see you later," I reply flatly, reaching down and picking up the pair of silver heels and straightening up with them in my hands. I'm trying to put off wearing them until I really have to.

We walk out together and part ways as I make my way barefoot down to the Entrance Hall. I'm there before Scorpius and take this time to slip my heels on. After a moment, Scorpius rounds the corner in a grey suit with a silver tie. My breath catches in my throat.

"You look beautiful," Scorpius says, his voice sounding a little strained.

"Thank you," I blush and struggle to meet his eyes. "So do you."

Scorpius looks amused. "I look beautiful?"

I laugh, breaking the tension. "No! You look … handsome." I falter, the anxiety of tonight suddenly washing over me again. I wring my hands.

"Rose," Scorpius catches my hands in his, covering them and protecting them. I look at him, surprised. He looks concerned and his eyes are soft. "Please, tell me what's wrong. I've not pushed it, but I really need you to tell me what's wrong now."

"It's nothing – I just really hate things like this."

Scorpius doesn't say anything. I know he's frustrated that I won't let him in.

"Look, if you need anything … just let me know." He says finally, letting go of my hands. I wish he was still holding them.

He offers me his arm. "You ready to go in?"

I sigh. "If we must."


	3. Chapter 3

**_A/N: a lot of this is taken from a much older fic of mine. It's deliberate as I was prompted by it when sorting through a lot of my old work. I hope you enjoy the reworking._**

Together, we enter the hall, empty save for McGonagall. She greets us and we stand at the door, just as students start to flood in. It's only been allowed for Fourth years and above, much to the disappointment of the lower school. Everyone gives sounds and gasps of amazement at the winter wonderland.

Music starts and pretty soon, the entire room is full of laughter and chatter. As the organisers and Head Boy and Girl, Scorpius and I have the responsibility to host and greet everyone. It's exhausting.

Scorpius is much better at this than I am: flirting effortlessly, gliding easily between conversations and groups of students, whilst I tag along with him quietly.

"You look like you need this," Lily has sidled up to me and slips me a glass of pumpkin juice.

"Thanks," I mutter, taking a long drink and then resisting the urge to spit it out.

"It's got grown up juice in it," Lily hisses in my ear, disappearing back into the crowd.

I hesitate a minute, but when I see Scorpius touch the waist of a girl in our Potions class and say something which makes her giggle, I down the glass.

Suddenly, I've had enough. Without saying anything to anyone, I turn on my heel and weave through the crowds until I reach the doors. Without a backwards glance, I slip out into the empty Entrance Hall and revel in the space and quiet.

I wander down the corridor for a bit until I find a medieval tapestry. It's thick and heavy, and when I pull it aside, I find an alcove which is perfect for clearing my mind. I slip inside and settle myself on the dusty stone floor, not caring much about the dirt on my dress. It's pitch black in here, and it's giving me some clarity; the blackness giving me one less sensory overload of the Great Hall to deal with.

Resting my forehead on my knees which are drawn up to my chest, I wrap my arms around my shins and focus on my breathing, counting slowly to ten.

"Well, well, well, look who it is."

Light floods in and when I peer up, I see Scorpius towering above me, the tapestry pushed back. He's holding two bottles of Firewhiskey in his left hand.

"You look like you need this," Scorpius hands me a bottle.

"Thanks," I mutter, taking it from him.

"Move over." I begrudgingly shuffle over in the small space and Scorpius steps into the alcove, letting the tapestry fall back into place, once again plunging us into near complete darkness. There's a small sliver of golden candlelight creeping through a crack in the wall hanging, lighting up Scorpius' features. "You should go back to the ball, Scorp," I say tiredly.

"I'd rather not," Scorpius says cheerfully.

"It won't look good to have us both missing from our own event."

Scorpius shrugs. "Everyone is there and it's busy; no one will even notice we're missing."

I don't reply. We sit in silence for a few moments, sipping our drinks.

"Well," Scorpius is the first to break the silence. "This is cosy." He says innocently.

It certainly is cosy inside this cramped alcove.

"I didn't ask you to sit with me," I grumble.

"So why are you sulking in here alone?"

"I am _not_ sulking," I say indignantly.

Scorpius turns his head to me and raises one eyebrow in disbelief. He turns his head back to the front and takes a swig of Firewhiskey. He reaches up and drags long, pale, piano fingers through his pale blond hair. With one hand, he decisively reaches up, pulling his tie loose, easing it down and then completely undone. It's only when he begins to undo his three top buttons that I say something.  
"Scorpius, stop taking your clothes off."

He gives a laugh and I can't help but smile a little, too. Scorpius has that effect on me. "You look really beautiful tonight, Rosie."

Scorpius looks at me again, his eyes looking me slowly up and down. I gulp. I hope it's dark enough to hide the fact that I can feel my neck and cheeks beginning to warm.

"Shut you face," I mutter, unable to meet his smouldering gaze. Half the time I can never tell if he's messing with me or not." My hands go up to my low bodice. I pull at it slightly, attempting to relieve my poor, crushed lungs. "I can barely breathe in this stupid dress though." I complain.

"I can give you a hand with that if you like?" Scorpius offers piously.

I scowl at him. "Behave yourself, Malfoy."

Scorpius winks at me to show me he's only winding me up. But after the other night, I can't help but wonder how much he's actually serious. "Come on, you've dragged this out for long enough; what's your problem with this ball?"

I sigh. "I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

I stare down at my knees. "Because it's ridiculous."

"I won't," Scorpius sounds genuinely wounded. "How about I guess?"

"If it will shut you up about it," I concede finally.

Scorpius looks pleased. "Okay," he begins and thinks for a moment. "Albus once humiliated you at a ball and it's made you nervous about them ever since?"

"No."

"Ice causes you severe mental trauma?"

"No."

"You're scared of snow?"

" _No_."

"Your cousins are setting you up on a blind date and tonight is the first time you're going to meet him?"

I give a laugh despite myself. "You are terrible at this game."

"That's because I'm not really trying," Scorpius admits cheerfully, evidently pleased that he's made me laugh.

"So go on then – try. Impress me," I say, not without a hint of flirtation.

"Maybe," Scorpius starts slowly, looking at me carefully. "Just _maybe_ … the reason you've been dreading this ball so much, is because no one asked you out. No boy is giving you a look or shred of attention when your female cousins and friends haven't left the sides of their chosen dates all evening." I try not to betray in my face that he's right, but he can read me like a book. "And perhaps," he continues gently, reaching over to brush a loose curl out of my face and behind my ear. "You don't understand _why_ boys avoid you and don't ask you out. Even your little brother has a girlfriend."

I don't say anything for a few seconds. "Bingo." I say finally, my voice deflated.

"Boys avoid you, Rose Weasley, because they are intimidated by you."

"Stop it," I mutter, dropping my eyes.

"No; listen to me," Scorpius says firmly. "You are beautiful, and clever, and terrifying. And being rejected by you would be the worst thing in their entire lives. It would bruise their egos and pride, and everyone would know about it." I have a feeling we're not talking about boys as a collective anymore.

I look at him. His jaw is set. "You think I'm terrifying?" I ask, unable to hide a smile.

"You sure scare the hell out of me."

And without another thought, I close the space between us, and I kiss him. I kiss him properly this time; carefully and meaningfully. Scorpius gives a content sigh and pulls me closer, one hand at the nape of my neck, the other across my body.

As our tongues entwine, we shift as one and suddenly, I'm straddling him, my dress hitched up around my thighs as Scorpius' hands slide up my skirt and to my hips, gripping them tightly as I wrap my arms around his neck.

"We – shouldn't – do – this – here," I murmur between heavy and heated kisses. Scorpius gives a dark chuckle. "We really should go back to the Great Hall," I say finally, giving a small groan as Scorpius begins kissing my neck.

"Are you going to stop sulking now?" Scorpius mutters against my skin.

"Depends," I reply playfully, tangling my hands in his hair and kissing him again.

"We can carry this on later if you cheer the hell up."

I pretend to consider. "It's a deal." With reluctance I stand and step to the side so Scorpius can get to his feet. We brush ourselves down and Scorpius re-knots his tie, smoothing his hair back into place.

Eventually we slip back into the corridor and hand in hand enter the Great Hall again, hoping that our reappearance goes unnoticed.

"Smooth," Lily mutters in my ear as she walks past us, clocking my messy hair and Scorpius' flushed cheeks. "Real classy."

"You're one to talk," I shoot back out of the corner of my mouth.

As we begin to integrate and mingle with groups of students again, I feel my mood has lifted. And whenever mine and Scorpius' eyes meet, I can tell we're both thinking the same thing: _just wait until later_.


End file.
